Despite finishing Who’s Leading a little later than I wanted, I turned my attention to the next story for my patrons, a mystery. Despite favoring Kyle Rickman recently, I didn’t have an idea for a mystery. However, since I was already inside ChatGPT, I started asking for some ideas, and while it gave me some interesting concepts, none of them caught my eye. Although the AI provided nothing I considered valuable, it planted several seeds that grew into potential ideas. With several concepts swirling about my mind, I latched on to giving my investigator some ethereal help. And that meant it was time to bring Marcus and Benjamin back to the forefront.
Despite having some tattered thoughts, I also didn’t have to worry about shoving random aspects into the story. Because the premise itself simplified my creative process. All I needed was an overworked detective and a shade who is impatient about solving his murder. Even though they’ve made some breakthroughs, circumstances beyond their control forced them into a holding pattern. That, combined with the hard fact of Marcus’s unending caseload, I had a perfect scenario. Following his workday, Marcus settles in for a long night. Amidst the cases he’s examining, he’s stuck on the file, focusing on the murder of a young woman.
Grab a chair and join me as Marcus and Benjamin endeavor to bring justice to the guilty and closure to their victims and their families.
After making a breakthrough in Benjamin’s death, Marcus’s chief forces the detective to focus his outstanding cases…
Benjamin popped his ghostly head through the precinct’s wall and drifted over to one of the handful of detectives remaining. The shade peered over his partner’s shoulder as he tapped his lips. “Marcus, what are you doing?”
The detective dropped the file onto his desk and rubbed his eyes as he leaned through his dead partner. “I’m doing what the Chief ordered, working my active cases.”
Benjamin’s ethereal body burst into thousands of tiny motes of light. Instantly, those pinpricks of verdant light began swirling about the desk as Benjamin’s voice serenaded his partner. “This isn’t my case. Why aren’t you working on my murder? Why aren’t we searching for the tidbit required to pump Patty for all she knows regarding it?”
“We’re in a holding pattern with her.” Marcus reached out and thumped the file as his gaze drifted to the ceiling. “And the chief is hounding me to close some of my pending cases. Hence, my extra-long day, searching for the missing details regarding this murder.”
“I suppose that’s reasonable.” The countless bits of light slammed together, reforming Benjamin’s body as he peered at the pictures lining Marcus’s desk. When his ethereal gaze drifted to the third image, Benjamin slammed his wispy finger through the face, staring up at him. “He’s involved in another murder?”
The detective flew forward, yanking the photo through Benjamin’s finger. “What do you mean, another?”
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